The Remaining Chains
by creativeone298
Summary: Rex and Obi-Wan discuss the nightmares they have after their ordeal in the slave camps of Kadavo.


_They were whipping him again. Rex tried to stay quiet, tried to hide his pain, but the lash digging into his flesh was too much, and he cried out briefly, and then shut his mouth again, and attempted to endure the remainder of the pain in silence._

_ "__Talk of escape is forbidden." The guard said, and Rex looked down, subdued, and kept picking at the rock._

Rex woke up, panting. He felt his face, and it was wet with tears again. He'd been having these nightmares ever since they'd had the mission to save the Togrutas. He'd had nightmares before, shortly after he'd left Kamino, but they hadn't haunted him for almost three years. However, the slave camp nightmares had lasted him a week, were extraordinarily vivid, and left him very tired.

Rex liked solving his problems individually. He normally could decipher what was going on in his head and the world around him on his own. It was a quality he proudly owned, a quality that made him fit to be a Captain. These recent episodes, however, left him feeling like he needed to talk to someone. Rex quietly slipped out of his bed, and landed on the floor, not silently, but pretty close to it. He walked to the bathroom, washed his face, and begun to pace the halls. Who should he talk to? The other clones wouldn't understand, and he still felt a slight twang of intimidation toward his superiors.

Rex didn't have to look far for his answer; it came to him.

"The Force feels clouded around you, Captain."

"General Kenobi? What are you doing up at this hour, sir?" Rex stood at attention, albeit sleepily.

"At ease, Rex. I've been having trouble sleeping as of the late, and I was going to talk to Anakin about it. He was sleeping like a baby though, and I would feel horrible if I woke him."

"Funny you mention it, General; I've been having nightmares about when I was in the slave camp, and being that you were there too, I was wondering if you might know why I'm only having nightmares now when I haven't had them for any other times, including Christophis and Umbara."

Obi-Wan paused and searched for a good answer. "Well, you're not alone in the nightmares. I've been having them, and I have a sinking suspicion that Anakin and Ahsoka have some as well."

Rex's stomach dropped. His superiors were strong. He knew Skywalker wasn't the most emotionally stable, and he occasionally woke up in the night, screaming, but Commander Tano lived in the present. She never forgot this type of situation, but let it make her stronger, and didn't attach herself to it, in the manner of the Jedi. The fact that this situation wasn't exclusive to him made him worry.

"Why do you think it's affecting us like this?" Rex asked, hoping for an answer from someone focused more on spiritual matters than himself.

"Well, I've done some thinking about myself. I like to help people. It's probably why I stay a Jedi. Well, when I was in the slave camp, when I tried to help people, they got hurt. I know that took a toll on my mental health. Any insights on yourself?"

Rex thought for a while. He guessed that he liked to help people as well; whether or not he was bred for it was irrelevant; he did. He didn't like to see them punished, but he didn't help them out like General Kenobi did. He did know that he'd stand up for Obi-Wan or any Togrutas that he felt sorry for, take the torture for their misdemeanors.

"Yes, I do. I'm like you but not as noble on the outside. I want to help people though."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "I had another suspicion. Mind if I share it?"

"Not at all, sir."

"Well, you were raised in an environment that lumps you in with a group, making you feel like you're the same as everyone else there. Within this group, you and your brothers strive for individuality. You are a remarkable individual, and have a personality and appearance all your own. In that camp, they tried to take the individuality out of you. I think that may have played a part."

Rex nodded; that made sense, and explained why his nightmares involved oppressing him rather than of others.

"Thank you, sir. You're better at this than I am." Rex sat down and took a deep breath in and out. Obi-Wan joined him.

"Do you have anything that you do to make the nightmares go away?" Rex asked, his voice going higher than normal. He bowed his head, and his shoulders hunched.

"Well, it's something Jedi are trained to do ever since they join the temple. Don't get attached. Don't bury the memory away, but accept that it's a part of your life. Let it go."

"I see. I've become okay at that, seeing as I've seen some major losses, and many brothers die. I just feel like I've been jabbed personally many times lately, and maybe that set me off."

"Give it time. That's what I'm going to do." Obi-Wan said, his eyes downcast. "I don't know much better than you do. I had a lot of nightmares after Qui-Gon died, for about a year. Maybe something will distract you, something that requires more mental power. For me, it was Anakin. For you, it may be the battlefield, or something of the sort."

"You took care of General Skywalker, sir?"

"Yes, I did. I practically raised him from the age of eight. He was quite a handful, not so different from what he is now...he was just more immature."

Rex laughed, and felt the tension easing. "He is a handful, sir, but I like working under him."

Obi-Wan returned Rex's smile. "I like working with him as well. He somehow gets the mission done almost every time."

Rex sat there, feeling the pressure leaving his shoulders. Obi-Wan's presence calmed him down immensely. After Rex felt like he'd been bothering Obi-Wan for too long, he got up.

"Thanks for helping me out, sir." Rex extended a hand to help Obi-Wan up. He took it, and Rex hoisted him to his feet.

"Thank you, Rex, for talking with me. You're a good man."

Rex smiled, waved goodbye, and walked back to his bed.

The nightmares didn't go away immediately after Rex had had his conversation with Obi-Wan. However, they were fuzzier after their talk, and they eventually went away. Sometimes, when the darkest recesses of the night engulfed him when he couldn't sleep, Rex thought of when he was a slave, and the nightmares threatened to return. He never forgot the nightmares, or how to deal with the pain, a skill he found himself using more and more as the Clone Wars went on.


End file.
